The Biggest Party in the Universe, illustrated by Ken Stott, Pearson Education (Harlow, England), 2001.

The Babysitter, Pearson Education (Harlow, England), 2005.

Adaptations

Several of Strong's books have been adapted for audio-book, including Pandemonium at School, 2002, The Indoor Pirates on Treasure Island, BBC Audiobooks America, 2005, and Chicken School, Chivers Children's Audio, 2005. Strong's "Story Street" characters and settings have appeared in fiction by other authors.

Sidelights

Successful in his efforts to attract even the most book-averse elementary school-aged readers, British author Jeremy Strong combines elements of fantasy and humor in his off-beat stories. Freely admitting to a love of making people laugh, Stong creates short novels with titles like There's a Pharaoh in Our Bath, Fatbag, the Demon Vacuum Cleaner, Krazy Kow Saves the World—Well, Almost, and My Mum's Going to Explode, that are guaranteed to attract beginning bookworms. Winner of a Children's Book Awards overall honor for The Hundred-Mile-an-Hour Dog, Strong's lighthearted approach has been described by Books for Keeps contributor Clive Barnes as full of "humour, invention, and [a] grasp of human nature," making his books excellent read-aloud choices.

Born in London, England, in 1949, Strong began writing by composing poetry and experimental prose. After he wrote his first story for children, he gradually discontinued his other work in favor of writing for young people. Meanwhile, Strong completed his college education, first at the University of York, where he re-

ceived his bachelor's degree in English in 1972, and then at St. John's College, York, where he earned a certificate of education in 1975. While teaching full time, Strong published his first book, Smith's Tail, under the name J.J. Strong. He left teaching in 1991 to write full time.

"Although I have tried one or two more serious children's stories, I prefer writing humorous tales," Strong once told SATA. Many of his quirky tales have actually been inspired by things that happened to Strong, either at home or in his classroom. Trouble with Animals, the story of a young boy's search for the perfect pet, includes a classic portrayal of a disapproving older sister, and "family relationships [that are] typical," according to School Library Journal contributor Dorcas Hand, the critic adding that Strong's "story is alive with the humor second and third graders love." Like several of Strong's books, Emily's a Guzzleguts is based on the author's son, Daniel, at a young age, and the boy's reactions to his sister, Jessica.

Children between ages eight and ten often pop up in Strong's stories. In Lightning Lucy, which a Junior Bookshelf contributor called "a bright little story told with humour and deft characterisation," an eight-year-old girl with the ability to fly causes no end of difficulty for her parents, while My Dad's Got an Alligator finds a young lad perplexed over his father's choice of a pet: an alligator appropriately named "Crunchbag." Not surprisingly, Crunchbag disrupts the home life of the boy's slightly eccentric family, creating humor in a tale that showcases Strong's "feel for the funny throwaway line," according to a Books for Keeps contributor.

Sometimes Strong features unusual protagonists in his comic tales. In Fatbag, the Demon Vacuum Cleaner a lumbering household appliance decides to take over the world, beginning with an elementary school where it starts sucking up all sorts of things before the janitor pulls the plug on its escapades. A human evil stars in The Beak Speaks in the form of Divine, a beautiful criminal who masquerades as a candidate for the position of new girlfriend for Mark's divorced dad. Science-fiction elements are combined with humor in stories like The Woff, in which a creature from outer space accidentally collides with Earth and ends up in a small grade school. To return to orbit, the tiny Woff asks for a diamond, and schoolchildren scurry to assist it in a tale that a Junior Bookshelf reviewer praised as "full of delightful twists of imagination" and containing "humour, slapstick, suspense and pleasure in plenty."

In addition to unusual characters, Strong enjoys weaving elements of fantasy into his novels for beginning readers. Giants walk the earth in Giant Jim and the Hurricane, wherein a giant who loves to play the saxophone ends up causing no end of trouble for a tiny village due to his enormous size. However, when a hurricane hits the village and tosses whole buildings around, the giant puts his size to good use in returning things to normal, thus winning the regard of all involved. A crew of water-hating pirates is the subject of The Indoor Pirates on Treasure Island, which School Library Journal contributor Carol Y. Barker dubbed a "humorous" story that "will capture the attention of listeners." Bungle's Ghost features a young princess who dreads the visit of her Aunt Moldred and her perfectly horrid cousin, Prince Conrad. When the pair arrive at the royal palace, Conrad torments everyone and everything in his path, including the princess's pet cat, Bungle. Fortunately, after a night spent hiding in the royal flour bin, Bungle emerges to set things right in a story that a Junior Bookshelf contributor described as having "a satisfying amount of lively text." The spirited princess and her pampered puss Bungle are reunited in several other books, including Bungle to the Rescue.

Animals star in many books by Strong. The Hundred-Mile-an-Hour Dog and its sequel, Wanted! The Hundred-Mile-an-Hour Dog, feature a wild-mannered pooch named Streaker. In the first book, Streaker is the subject of a bet between two young boys: Can the dog be trained to behave in two weeks? Trevor decides to take on the challenge in a story that School Librarian contributor Lucinda Fox maintained will appeal "to any children with a recalcitrant dog in the family, and to any who like zany pets." Rambunctious dogs also refuse to stay still in Dogs Are Different, as young Martin's puppy, aptly named Geronimo, trashes the family garden and does horrible things to Martin's stepfather's car interior. After Geronimo is expelled from dog obedience school, the word comes down from parental authority that the dog must go. Martin contemplates running away with his pup, but fortunately a better solution to the family's problem is found, in a tale that a Junior Bookshelf contributor praised as containing "pace and purpose, challenge and coherence."

While Strong has occasionally written for an older readership, as with his young-adult novel Stuff, he dedicates much of his writing time to children's fiction. "I find working for adults far more exacting and as yet have not discovered a line of humor that will help me to enjoy such work," he explained. "I've got to laugh or I get bored." As Strong once admitted to SATA, while working a a teacher he enjoyed his interactions with children, finding the company of eight and nine year olds stimulating. "I think my level of humor must have stuck at that age," he concluded. Describing his authorial career in Carousel magazine, Strong explained that "writing has rarely, if ever, seemed like labour. Each time I write a story I hope it will be better than the last one I wrote, and I try to make it so. I am conscious that I don't always succeed, but that is part of the fun (and toil)."

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